Tennessee erupts for 121 points in NCAA Tourney romp

Chris Lofton scored 25 points as the fifth-seeded Volunteers
rolled to a 121-86 rout of the 12th-seeded 49ers in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament's South Region.

Tennessee (23-10) looked lost offensively in its 76-67 loss to
Louisiana State in the Southeastern Conference tournament,
shooting just 34 percent from the floor.

But the high-flying Volunteers were a different team Friday,
racing to a 57-45 halftime lead before pouring in 64 points
after the break.

"The tempo was very fast," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said.
"The two teams liked to run, and the up-tempo brought out the
best in both."

"We're used to playing like that," Lofton said. "When a team
plays like that, we get excited. That's what we did tonight."

It was the highest scoring output by a team in this tournament
since Nevada-Las Vegas scored 131 points in the 1990 regional
final against Loyola-Marymount.

"We definitely got our fast-break game back," Lofton said.
"Coach does the play calling, and I know he wants us to be
aggressive. I just do whatever I can."

Lofton shot 9-of-13 and made four 3-pointers to pace five Vols
in double figures. JaJuan Smith and freshman Ramar Smith both
chipped in 24 points for Tennessee, which shot 59 percent
(44-of-75).

The Vols also received a solid contribution from reserve Duke
Crews, who collected 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Tennessee's second-round opponent will be fourth seed Virginia,
which defeated Albany on Friday.

"It is going to be fun," Crews said. "I'm ready for it. We
have to go up against some good guards on Sunday."

Kejuan Johnson scored 24 points for Long Beach State (24-8),
which made its first NCAA Tourney appearance since 1995.

"I think we played an opponent that was better than we were, and
they showed it tonight," Long Beach State coach Larry Reynolds
said. "Obviously we played the same style of game, and they had
a few more weapons going than we did."